Glass surfacing apparatus



y 1932. J. M. MCGOLDRICK 1,857,852

GLASS SURFACING APPARATUS Filed June 18, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR Jbseph M. Ma GoIdr/ckf ATTORN EY y 0, 1932. J. M. magnum 1,857,852

GLASS SURFACING APPARATUS Filed June 18, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Joseph M. Ma GoIdr/cK ATTORN EY Patented May 10, 1932 UNITED STATES JOSEPH M. MCGOLDRICK, OF TOLEDO, OHIO,

ASSIGNOR TO LIBBEY-OWENS-FOIR'D GLASS COMPANY, OF TOLEDO, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO GLASS SURFACING APPARATUS Application filed June 18,

continuous type.

Various systems for the continuous grinding and polishing of plate glass have heretofore been proposed, and in practically all of such systems there have been provided a series of cars or tables mounted on wheels and adapted to be rolled along tracks in a continuous train, first under a series of grinding units and then under a series of polishing units.

In the particular arrangement to which this invention is applied, two substantially parallel tracks are employed, and a series of grinding and polishing units may be mounted above either one or both tracks. When surfacing units are mounted above both tracks, it may be said that they constitute two working tracks whereas when the surfacing units are mounted above only one track, this track is termed the working track while the other track is termed the return track.

When two Working tracks are used, the sheets are carried along one track to surface one side thereof after which the sheets are turned over and passed in the opposite direction along the second track to surface the other side. On the other hand, when one working track and one return track is used, the glass sheets are carried along the working track to surface the upper sides thereof, after which the cars are transferred to the return track and carried rearwardly to the opposite end thereof where they are again transferred to the front end of the working track, the sheets being removed from the cars, turned over and re-laid thereon, after which the cars are again passed along the Working track beneath the surfacing units to grind and polish the second side of the sheets.

According to the present invention, the means provided for transferring the cars from one track to the adjacent track and vice versa embodies aturn-table connecting the two tracks at their ends. The cars are adapted to be run upon the turn-table from one 1931. Serial No. 545,274.

track, after which the said table is rotated to bring the car into alignment with the adjacent track so that it may be moved thereon from said turn-table.

This invention also contemplates the em ployment of bumper or bufling means carried upon the turn-table for checking the move; ment of the cars whereby to bring the same to a stop when they reach a substantially predetermined position thereupon. Such bumper or buffing means may include the usual spring-actuated plunger engageable by the cars and operable in a manner whereby to bring the said cars to a stop without any undue j olting, violent shock, or sudden abruptness.

In the use of such a bumper means of the type referred to above, there is a tendency for the spring-actuated plunger to cause a rebounding or springing back of the cars when they are moved into engagement therewith. This is, of course, an undesirable con dition and therefore the aim and principal object of the present invention is the provision of novel means adapted to cooperate with said bumper means in a manner to prevent any rebounding or springing back of the car when it is moved to engage the springactuated plunger.

Another important object of the invention involves the provision of novel means cooperating with the bumper and acting not only to prevent any rebounding of the car but also for effectively maintaining the car in the desired position upon the turn-table during the rotation thereof.

A further object of the invention resides in the provision of novel means of the character described above cooperating with the bumper for effectively clamping a portion of the car against the spring-actuated plunger and for maintaining it in such position during the rotation of said turn-table.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent during the course of the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings forming a part of this application and wherein like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same,

Fig. l is a plan view of apparatus provided by the present invention,

Fig. 2 is a view taken substantially on line 22 of Fig. 1, partially in elevation and partially in section,

Fig. 3 is a detail elevation of the means for effecting movement of the bumper out of operative position with respect to the cars, and

Fig. 1 is an enlarged view of a portion of the ratchet dog.

Referring to the drawings and particularly to Fig. 1, the numerals 10 and 11 designate the two substantially parallel main tracks such as are used in the continuous system for surfacing sheet glass. A series of grinding and polishing units (not shown) may be mounted above either one or both of these tracks as desired. However, for the purposes of illustration, let us assume that the grinding and polishing units are arranged above only the track 10 which will therefore be termed the working track, while the other track 11 will be termed the return track. Mounted to run upon the tracks 10 and 11 are a plurality of work cars or carriers 12 usually arranged in a continuous line and being adapted to carry a plurality of glass sheets 13 secured upon the upper surfaces thereof along the working track, first beneath a series of grinding units and then beneath a series of polishing units. The cars are then transferred from the working track 10 to the return track 11 and passed rearwardly to the opposite end thereof where they are again transferred to the front end of the working track. Before the cars are again passed along the working track, however, the glass sheets are removed therefrom, turned over, and again secured thereto so as to present their unground and unpolished sides uppermost.

The transfer means herein provided for effecting the transfer of the cars or carriers 12 from the working track 10 to the return trackll or vice versa embodies a, turn-table extending between and connecting the tracks at thelr corresponding ends. This turn-table is designated in its entirety by the numeral 14 and comprises an annular ring plate 15 supporting thereupon the four relatively short track sections 16, 17, 18 and 19 respectively, said track sections being adapted to be successively brought into alignment with the working track 10 and return track 11 upon rotation of the turn-table.

As shown in Fig. 1, one of the cars 12 is being moved from the working track 10 onto the turn-table and upon track section 16, while another car is being simultaneously moved from track section 18 of the turntable onto the return track 11. A third car is maintained upon track section 17 and will be brought to a discharge position in alignment with the return track upon a quarter turn of the turn-table in the direction indicated by the arrow. Thus, upon each quartcr turn of the turn-table, one of the track sections thereon will be brought into alignment with each main track 10 and 11 so that the cars can be removed from one main track and moved onto the opposite main track.

The rotation of the turn-table maybe effected in any preferred manner such as by means of a motor or other prime mover 20 having operative connections with and driving the drive pinion 21 meshing with a ring gear 22 carried by said turn-table around the inner edge thereof.

As brought out above, the present invention contemplates the provision of novel meansfor checking the movement of the cars or carriers as they are moved onto the turntable so that the said cars will be brought to a stop when they reach a predetermined position thereon, and will be effectively maintained in such position during the rotation of said turn-table. To this end there is associated with each turntable track section 16 to 19 a bumper or bufiing device designated in its entirety by the numeral 23. As best illustrated in Fig. 2, each buffing means comprises a substantially horizontal recessed platform or plate 24 carried by or formed integral with the turn-table and having a depending bearing portion 25 within which is slidably mounted the vertical supporting stem 26. This stem is preferably hollow and has arranged therein a compression spring 27 secured at its lower end to a block 28 and at itsupper end to a plate or cap 29. The block 28 is held in fixed position by oppositely directed trunnions 30 which pass through vertical slots 31 in the stem 26 and are secured Within the bearing portion 25. Thus, the compression spring 27 will normally tend to force the stem 26 upwardly but the said stem will also be permitted to move downwardly by reason of the vertical slots 31.

Carried upon the upper end of supporting stem 26 is a horizontally disposed cylinder 32 within which is slidably mounted the horizontal plunger 33, said plunger projecting forwardly beyond the cylinder and adapted to engagethe adjacent end of the car 12 when said car is moved upon the turn-table. Arranged within the cylinder is a compression spring or the like 34 which functions to normally force and 'yieldably maintain the plunger in its extended forward position. As the car 12 is drawn from the working track 10 onto the turn-table and when it reaches a predetermined position thereupon. the forward end of the car is adapted to engage the plunger 33 and in so doing forces the same rearwardlyagainst the action of spring 34 so as to place the said spring under compresslon.

In order to prevent anyrebound of the car 12 after it has been brought into position upon the turn-table, and which may be caused by the recoil of the plunger 33 due to the action of the compression spring 34, a member designated in its entirety by the numeral 35 is provided. This member constitutes aratchet dog and consists of an elongated plate or arm 36 pivotally mounted intermediate its ends as at 37 upon a bracket 38 carried by the turn-table. The end of the arm 36 remote from the bumper 23 is weighted down as at 39 so as to normally swing the opposite end upwardly and maintain it in such elevated position. The end of the arm 36 adja cent the bumper 23 is formed with a series of notches or ratchet teeth 40 cut out in stepped arrangement from the lower edge of the arm to the upper edge thereof, said teeth being engageable by the plate 41 secured at the for ward end of the car 12. From the above. it will be readily seen that when the car is moved from the track 10 onto the turn-table 14, the plate 41 riding over the ratchet dog will rock the arm 36 about its pivot 37 so as to allow the said plate to pass by the same and into engagement with the plunger 33. However, due to the provision of the weighted end 39, as the plate 41 passes each of the notches or teeth 40 formed at the end of arm 36, the said forward end of the arm will be moved upwardly, and in this manner will prevent any rearward movement or rebounding of the cars as it moves into engagement with the plunger. In other words, the plate 41 will be firmly clamped between the ratchet dog and the plunger so that the car will be held in the desired position and effectively maintained against, accidental movement during the rotation of the turn-table.

After the turn-table 14 has been rotated and it is desired to discharge the glass supporting car 12 therefrom onto the return track 11, it will be apparent that the bumper means must first be moved out of operative position with respect to said car so that the car can be moved past the same. This is herein accomplished by effecting the lowering of the cylinder 32 and associated parts, and this can be easily done since the same is carried at the upper end of the vertically moving supporting stem 26. The means herein provided for serving this purpose is entirely automatic in its operation and, to this end, the bearing portion 25 is provided at its lower end with spaced depending ears 42, between which is received the rocker arm 43 pivotally secured thereto intermediate its ends by means of the pin 44. The inner end of arm 43 is bifurcated to provide spaced legs 45 which embrace the lower end of supporting stem 26 and are secured thereto by the transverse pin 46. The pin 46 loosely carries at either end a substantially square bushing 47 sliclably received within the opening 48 formed in the adjacent leg 45. The openings 48 are preferably somewhat larger lengthwise than bushings 47 so as to permit the proper sliding action between the bushing and the arms when the latter are rocked about their pivot point to move the supporting stem vertically. The arm 43 is preferably curved as shown in Fig. 1 and the outer end carries a roller 49.

Mounted beneath the turn-table and preferably in the position indicated by the broken lines in Fig. 1 is the cam member 50 having a raised cam face 51 upon which the roller 49 carried by arm 43 is adapted to ride. Thus, as the turn-table is rotated to bring the track section carrying the car 12 into alignment with the return track so that the car upon the turntable track section may be moved therefrom, the roller 49 riding up on the cam face 51 will act to rock the arm 43 about its pivot and effect a lowering of the supporting stem 26 and bumper carried thereby. The rotation of the turn-table is so timed that it may be brought to a stop when the roller is at the highest point of the cam face as shown in Fig. 3. The car can then be moved from the turn-table. after which the said turn-table is again rotated. As the roller rides down the opposite side of the cam face, the supporting stem will be forced upwardly by the action of spring 27 to project the bumper into operative position. The arm 43 is curved and the cam member 50 placed at the angle indicated in Fig. 1 so that the roller 49 will ride up on the latter during rotation of the turn-table.

It is to be understood that the form of the invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as the preferred embodiment of the same, and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subj oined claims.

I claim:

1. In the continuous system for surfacing sheet glass, the combination with two substantially parallel tracks, glass supporting cars adapted to run along said tracks, and transfer means arranged at the corresponding ends of said tracks for effecting the transfer of the cars from one track to the other, of means carried by the transfer means for arresting the movementof the cars and bringing such cars to a stop when they reach a substantially predetermined position thereupon, and separate means also carried by the transfer means and cooperating with said first-mentioned means for clamping a portion of the car therebetween.

2. In the continuous system for surfacing sheet glass, the combination with two substantially parallel tracks, glass supporting cars adapted to run along said tracks, and transfer means arranged at the corresponding ends of said tracks for effecting the trans ferof the cars from one track to the other, of a yieldable bumper means carried by the transfer means and including a spring actuated plunger arranged in the path of the cars and adapted to stop the same when they are moved to a substantially predetermined position thereupon, and separate means also carried by the transfer'means for clamping a portion of the car against said plunger.

3. In the continuous system for surfacing sheet glass, the combination with two substantially parallel tracks, glass supporting cars adapted to run along said tracks, and transfer means arranged at the corresponding ends of said tracks for effecting the transfer of the cars from one track to the other, of means carried by the transfer means for arresting the movement of the cars and bringing such cars to a stop when they reach a substantially predetermined position thereupon, and a movable member also carried by the transfer means and cooperating with said first-mentioned means for clamping a portion of the car therebetween.

4. In the continuous system for surfacing sheet glass, the combination with two substantially parallel tracks, glass supporting cars adapted to run along said tracks, and transfer means arranged at the corresponding ends of said tracks for effecting the transfer of the cars from one track to the other, of a yieldable bumper means carried by the transfer means and including a spring actuated plunger arranged in the path of the cars and adapted to stop the same when they are moved to a substantially predetermined position thereupon, and a movable member also carried by the transfer means for clamping a portion of the car against said plunger.

5. In the continuous system for surfacing sheet glass,the combination with'two substantially parallel tracks, glass supporting cars adapted to run along said tracks, and transfer means arranged at the corresponding ends of said tracks for effecting the transfer of the cars from one track to the other, of means carried by the transfer means for arresting the movement of the cars and bringing such cars to a stop when they reach a substantially predetermined position thereupon, and a ratchet dog also carried by the transfer means and cooperating with said first-mentioned means for clamping a portion of the car therebetweenL 6. In the continuous system for surfacing sheet glass, the combination with two sub stantially parallel tracks, glass supporting cars adapted to run along said tracks, and transfer means arranged at the corresponding ends of said tracks for effecting the transfer of the cars from one track to the other, of a yieldable bumper means carried by the transfer means and including a spring actuated-plunger arranged in the path of the cars and adapted to stop the same when they are moved to a substantially predetermined position thereupon, and a ratchet dog also carried by the transfer means for clamping a portion of the car against said plunger.

7. In the continuous system for surfacing sheet glass, the combination with two substantially parallel tracks, glass supporting cars adapted to run along said tracks, and transfer means arranged at the corresponding ends of said tracks for effecting the transfer of the cars from one track to the other, of means carried by the transfer means for arresting the movement of the cars and brin ing such cars to a stop when they reach a substantially predetermin d position thereupon, and a pivoted arm also carried by the transfer means and cooperating with said firstmentioned means for clamping a portion of the car there-between.

8. In the continuous system for surfacing sheet glass, the combination with two substantially parallel tracks, glass supporting cars adapted to run along said tracks, and transfer means arranged at the corresponding ends of said tracks for effecting the transfer of the cars from one track to the other, of a yieldable bumper means carried by the transfer means and including a spring actuated plunger arranged in the path of the cars and adapted to stop the same when they are moved to a substantially predetermined position thereupon, and a pivoted arm also carried by the transfer means for clamping a portion of the car against said plunge-1.

9. In the continuous system for surfacing sheet glass, the combination with two substantially parallel tracks, glass supporting cars adapted to run along said tracks, and transfer means arranged at the corresponding ends of said tracks for effecting the transer of the cars from one track to the other, of means carried by the transfer means for arresting the movement of the cars and bringing such cars to a stop when they reach a substantially predetermined position thereupon, and separate means also carried by the transfer means and cooperating with said firstunentioned means for clamping a portion of the car therebetween, said secondnamed means including a pivoted arm having a plurality of teeth adapted to engage said car.

10. In the continuous system for surfacing sheet glass, the combination with two substantially parallel tracks, glass supporting cars adapted to run along said tracks, and transfer means arranged at the corresponding ends of said tracks for effecting the transfer of the cars from one track to the other, of a yieldable bumper means carried by the transfer means and including a spring actuated plunger arranged in the path of the cars and adapted to stop the same when they are moved to a substantially predetermined posi- ISL;

tion thereupon, and separate means also carried by the transfer means for clamping a portion of the car against said plunger, said last-mentioned means including a pivoted arm having a plurality of teeth adapted to engage said car.

11. In the continuous system for surfacing sheet glass, the combination with two substantially parallel tracks, glass supporting cars adapted to run along said tracks, and

transfer means arranged at the corresponding ends of said tracks for effecting the transfer of the cars from one track to the other, of means carried by the transfer means for arresting the movement of the cars and bringing such cars to a stop when they reach a substantially predetermined position thereupon, and separate means also carried by the transfer means and cooperating with said first-mentioned means for clamping a portion of the car therebetween, said secondnamed means including a pivoted arm having a plurality of teeth adapted to engage said car and being arranged in stepped relation from the lower edge of the arm to the upper edge thereof.

12. In the continuous system for surfacing sheet glass, the combination with two substantially parallel tracks, glass supporting cars adapted to run along said tracks,

and transfer means arranged at the corre sponding ends of said tracks for effecting the transfer of the cars from one track to the other, of a yieldable bumper means carried by the transfer means and including a spring actuated plunger arranged in the path of the cars and adapted to stop the same when they are moved to a substantially predetermined position thereupon, and separate means also carried by the transfer means for clamping a portion of the car against said plunger, said last-mentioned means including a pivoted arm having a plurality of teeth adapted to engage said car and being arranged in stepped relation from the lower edge of the arm to the upper edge thereof.

Signed at Toledo, in the county of Lucas and State of Ohio, this 12th day of June, 1931.

JOSEPH M. MGGOLDRICK. 

